A Rustic Italian Dinner Party

I had the pleasure of designing a very small loft for an intimate Italian Dinner Party for 24 guests for two gentlemen that host a large networking group.  It was an even greater challenge when my décor budget was only $150, excluding the usual rentals of tables, chairs, and linens of course!  Fortunately, they mostly wanted candles as the décor and centerpieces, but I was able to incorporate some pieces of artwork on the walls as well to give the appearance of Italy and I used wine corks as accents on the tables, for the rustic feel that they wanted.  You know guys don’t really want that elegance that we girls always want

Courtesy of Leslie Marie Photography

Courtesy of Leslie Marie Photography

The guests enjoyed and authentic Italian 3-course meal of bruschetta served with several spreads as their Hors d’oeuvres, Risotto with wild mushrooms topped with parmesan cheese as the first course, Roasted chicken breast with zucchini over pasta as their entrée course, and Tiramisu for dessert, prepared by Chef Aaron of Louis Kingsley Inc. 

Courtesy of Photograher Carlos Bell

Courtesy of Photographer Carlos Bell

Courtesy of Photographer Carlos Bell

Through every course, the guests had a selection of Italian wines to choose from.  And, let me tell you, the food was amazing!  It was the exact same as it was during the food tasting as it was the night of the event!  The guests had a great time and are looking forward to the next event!

Suede Wedding Shoes

I had the chance to be a model for a day and live out a dream that I'd always had.  I walked the runway in two couture wedding gowns from the salon of Randi Lawrence Moore!  The venue was beautiful and decorated in an all white color palette.  I so loved the suede runway, which inpired me to write this post.

As we head into the fall season and the change of colors, I thought I'd carry that to the shoes.  Brides today are adding pops of color to their shoes so why not change the material with the season too?  We put on coats in the winter time, so why not add a suede wedding shoe in the fall or winter?  Here are some fabulous options.

Who doesn't love a great pair of Louboutins?

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I love the butterfly detail on the toe! Texture and bling!

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Pink and Jimmy Choo. What's not to love?

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Like I've said many times before, be you.  Times have changed and your wedding day is a chance to show who you are.  Add some flare to your outfit by incorporating texutures along with the bling that we have grown to love.  If you're not into the bling, simply add the textures to go along with the Fall season. 

Escort Cards & Place Cards

Now, you’ve invited all of your guests and you’re trying to decide on what to do with seating assignments.  There are a three options to choose from and sometimes people think they need all of the options, which tends to confuse the guests.  Two of the three of often used, but all aren’t necessary.

The Escort Card is placed outside the main event space and tells the guests at which table he or she should sit.  If you choose this option, this means that you’ve chosen open seating at each table.  You want the guests at each table to interact and have fun but not sit at a specific seat.

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The Place Card is placed on the table at the specific place setting in which you would like your guest to sit at the table.  If you’ve chosen this option, there may be an escort card or seating chart outside directing your guests to the appropriate table.  You may want to encourage people to get to know each other and assigning seats was the best way to do this.

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The Seating Chart is placed outside of the main entrance and advises the guests of which table to sit.  It’s large in size and is often chosen to go along with place cards and as an alternative to escort cards.

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The common misconception is that a Place Card and an Escort cards are the same thing.  They are not! Although they don’t have the same purpose, their use are often mistaken and used interchangeably.  Place cards are already set on the table and Escort cards are not. If you think of it as someone placing you in your seat or escorting you to your table, as I do, it’s an easy way to remember the difference between the two.

Lastly, if you choose the Escort Cards or the Seating Chart, alphabetize the list by last name.  Your guests will have an easier time finding their seats and it truly does cut down on a lot of time in the long run.

Lighting The Intelligent Way

We’ve talked about the most commonly used lighting techniques but if your budget allows, how about doing something a little different and going with Intelligent Lighting?  I had the opportunity to chat with my friend and lighting professional, Roy of Unique Event Management regarding some new things that are going on in the industry.

What is Intelligent Lighting you ask?  To sum it up, it’s moving lights.  But we’re not talking about the disco kind or those necessarily seen at the club.  We’re still referring to weddings and the elegance that a wedding has.  Basically, the lights work together with a lighting board and lighting director to give movement to the room. 

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If you’re really into weddings as I am, you watched the Monopoly ® episode of “My Fair Weddings” with David Tutera and saw the dice being rolled throughout the evening and the room changed colors as if moving around the board.  Well, for the dice to roll and the colors to change, Intelligent Lighting had to be used.  You may not be into Monopoly ® but I think you get the idea.

If you’ve chosen to have a Gobo to be displayed on the wall and just don’t want it to sit there, maybe you want it to change colors throughout your event. 

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Have a certain pattern that you love and the Gobo just isn’t enough for you?  Pattern Lighting allows your favorite pattern to be displayed on the wall, ceiling, and dance floor.

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When it comes to lighting decor, your imagination can run wild.  These days, if you can dream it, it truly can be accomplished!

Lighting Up Your Reception

Lighting is one of the most important elements in event design.  You may have heard your event planner or designer talk about this during one of your planning meetings.  If not, it is vital.  Lighting, whether it’s candlelight or up-lighting can transform the look and feel of any room.

The 4 forms of lighting that are most commonly used: Up Lighting, Pin Lighting, Gobos, and of course Candle Lighting.  Your event planner or designer can work with a lighting professional to decide on what works best for the venue that you’ve chosen. 

Up lighting is often used to blanket the room or walls in specific colors, often the colors you’ve chosen for your event.  Is the room large with expansive white ceilings?  Why not have up lighting in the colors of your wedding and cozy up the room and change its ambiance? 

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Pin lighting is light directly focused on an object, such as your centerpiece or your wedding cake.  Is your cake grand and opulent?  Then pin lighting is something that you may want to do.  Gobos are stencils that are placed over lighting fixtures and often have couples initials, logos, or monograms carved into them to be illuminated from the dance floor.  Are you proud to change your last name or ready to show off that custom logo you made? Then a Gobo is the way to go.

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The options are endless and can surely be mixed and matched to give you the reception that you desire.  Assess your space and work with  your hired professionals to see what works for you.  Tomorrow I'll discuss some advanced lighting options! 

Choosing Your Bridal Party

"Have strong pillars beneath you so if you stumble, you're still standing strong."

Someone said this to me yesterday and of course, it resonated within me.  It also reminded me of a wedding that we did a few weeks ago in Augusta, GA.  One of the things we do during wedding rehearsals is to have the bridal party introduce themselves, state what their role is in the upcoming wedding, and state how long they've known the bride or groom.  This helps them get to know each other as well as to help us identify each member of the bridal party.

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For this particular wedding, as the bridal party was introducing themselves, I kept hearing things like "I've known the  bride since she was 10 years old." or "We went to high school together."  The entire bridal party was made up of people that had watched the couple grow up and watched them grow in love together!  They were surrounded by love.  To me,  this was the most beautiful bridal party that I  had been a part of.  In fact, there were so many tears shed during rehearsal that we had to make sure that the church had extra Kleenex for the ceremony the next day.

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Many times we see a strong bond between the bride and her maid-of-honor or the groom and his best man, but the rest of the bridal party can be made up of friends, close friends, or sometimes people that just so happened to drop in at the last minute because there was a cancellation in one of the other members.  Sometimes people are chosen to be in the bridal party because we're afraid of hurting someone's feelings if we don't ask.  

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You should have people standing beside you that's willing to support you.  Period!  You don't have to spend so much time on making both sides look even.  You can even choose to have a Man of Honor or a Best Woman, if he or she has been your strongest support system over the years.  It's your wedding! Those that are just there to witness the ceremony, are invited as your guests.  

Buffet vs. Plated Meal

You've decided on your wedding venue and now it's time to decide on whether to have a buffet meal or a plated one.  It is automatically assumed that the plated meal will be much more expensive, so the buffet dinner is the one chosen.  I see this scenario more often than not, so let's just say that  this is the one you've gone with.

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What many people don't see is the reception from the guests' perspective.  You've invited approximately 150 guests to your weding.  Chances are, by the time the reception starts, they are all hungry at the same time!  You try to be proactive, along with your wedding planner, and have the table numbers called one or two at a time to the buffet line.  However, the line backs up anyway! 

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The servers are moving as fast as humanly possible but there is only so much that they can do. On top of that, your guests are trying to balance the many dishes and glasses that you chose would be great ways to serve and present the wonderful food options.  You simply forgot they only had two hands!

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Think about the reception from the guests perspective.  Follow the lead of your wedding planner.  She may have been to the venue many times before and have very good ideas on how things should flow logistically.  Besides, the longer it takes for all of your guests to get through the line, the less time you have to dance and the other fun things.  Lastly, just because it's a buffet, doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to cost you any less money.  Listen to the experts and make an informed decision.

Need Help Proposing To Your Mate?

Just about every girl waits for the day her Prince Charming “pops the question.”  How will he do it?  When will he do it?  Where?  All of these questions have gone through our minds.  But, believe it or not, they’ve gone through his mind too!  If he wants to totally surprise you and if he wants it to be really special, he may be thinking about it a lot more than we think.

For the grooms that are looking beyond proposing after dinner and a fancy restaurant.  Here are a few ideas that you can incorporate into your personal style to craft the perfect proposal for your soon to be fiancé.

1.      Do you guys love to throw parties?  Why not invite all of your family and friends over for an “Engagement Party”, a surprise of course!  Have a select few of them wear t-shirts spelling the phrase “Will You Marry Me?”  Once she says yes, let the true engagement party begin!

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2.      If neither of you are into crowds and prefer more private and intimate settings at home, how about giving her a full body massage after a long day a work?  Use her favorite music, candle light and favorite oils.  Save her left hand for last.  As you are massaging her left hand, slide the ring on and propose!

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3.      Lastly, have a custom gift basket made with all of her favorite things.  Have the ring hidden in there as one of her gifts.  As she’s pulling out the items from the gift basket, make sure you’re ready to pop the question when she sees the ring!

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In a recent poll, 85% of woman were upset with the way their future husband proposed.  Whatever you decide to do, make it memorable in a good way!  Something she'll always remember and will always want to share with her friends and loved ones.

Be Who You Are!

Every day I read or hear something that really strikes a chord within me and I try to pass that on to others.  “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”  It’s a quote from Dolly Parton that was cited in a movie that I watched over the weekend.  If you’ve followed this blog, you know that I’m a big movie buff.  Anyway, this sounded so much like my mantra of “Do you” or “Be you” that I had to write about it.

Often times many of us get so wrapped up in being included in this circle or that one that we lose focus on what we really like or want.  We have a voice but are afraid to speak it in fear of what others may think of the opinions we have.  As if having a mind of our own is such a bad thing!

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I have very few friends.  You may have just gasped at that statement, but this is by choice and not because of my popularity status.  Even if it was, I still have a say-so in who’s allowed into my circle of influence!  FRIEND is not a word that I use lightly or take for granted.  My friends are there for the good, the bad, AND the ugly.  Even when our opinions are polar opposites on the same issue, we can continue to support each other.  It’s like the word “love” for me, it carries a lot of weight!  These days it’s thrown around too loosely.  

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My point today and one I’ve learned along my journey, find your white space.  Find what makes you, you and do it.  You have to believe that you are special to accomplish great things.  Sadly, many of us just don’t know how special we are!  You shouldn't rely on someone else to validate you or what you already know.  There are so many opinions in this world but when it comes to deciding what’s best for you, your opinion should be the deciding factor and should be the one that matters the most.

Dressing Your Best Body Part

I recently read a magazine article that said you should dress your best body part when choosing a wedding gown and the rest will truly fall into place.  I really had to think about that for a second.  Granted, I have no idea what dress I will wear on my wedding day, but I do know what I like and what struggles I have when shopping for clothes today. 

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My waist is my biggest struggle and one of my best features.  It’s tiny!!  You may be thinking I’m lucky, and most days I think am.  The issue, you ask?  I have to wear a belt with just about everything!   My waist is tiny and my hips and butt, might I say, not so much.  With that being said, according to the article in Get Married Magazine, I would more than likely dress my waist if I were choosing a dress today. 

Here are some dresses with amazing belts that I would definitely consider:

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You know your body better and what looks good on you.  Although you may take a few people with you when it's time to select a dress, make sure you select something that suits those body parts that you absolutely love to flaunt.  Choose something that you'll love and something that makes you smile.

Win FREE Wedding Photography!

Pictures, THE most tangible thing you have left after your wedding day.  Next to the venue and food, it is also said to be one of the most expensive items you have to purchase for your wedding.  Now, you have the chance to win a FREE photography package from Jessica Velarde Photography!

Are you planning a creative and unique wedding and haven’t skimped on any of the details?

Has your imagination gone wild with the theme of your wedding and you can’t wait to capture it on film?

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If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, then this contest is for you!  Here are the details and what you need to do:

The winner of the contest will receive: a wedding photography package worth $2300!!! This includes a full day of coverage by two (AMAZING) photographers!! (So not a moment of your day will be missed!!) You will also receive 200 high resolution digital files on DVD. *Travel and lodging are not included, so please keep in mind there will be a reasonable fee if the winner resides outside Monterey County, CA.*

How it works:

The contest is open for entries (August 1st, 2011) and will remain open until September 1st, 2011. Five finalists will be selected based on the creativity and uniqueness of their wedding plans. Then the contest will head over to the Soundtrack To I Do Facebook page, where anyone and everyone can vote on a winner! Voting will continue until September 15th, and the winner will be announced here on the blog on September 16th.

How to enter:

1. “Like” Soundtrack To I Do on Facebook

2. “Like” Jessica Velarde Photography on Facebook

3. Email Colleen at soundtracktoido@gmail.com with “Photography Contest” in the subject line, and give us the following information:

•          Your name (and your fiance’s name)
•          Your wedding date and location
•          What makes your wedding unique (Include as much detail as possible!)
•          A photo of you and your fiance

 So, take the opportunity on winning some amazing photography so you'll have amazing pictures to treasure long after the wedding day has passed.

A Newspaper Themed Wedding?

Today’s post is a tribute to my teenage daughter who’s so into fashion, and these days so into newspaper! Clipping coupons and saving money every chance she can.

Many women have talked about our wedding day since we were little girls and my daughter is no different, especially since she sees her mother working in the wedding industry day in and day out.  She talks about getting married in the most non-traditional venues, wearing the most non-traditional dresses.

This is what’s on her mind today…

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Her idea of the Bridesmaids Dress and Clutch

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Her ideas for Wedding Programs and Ring Bearer Pillow

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Of course, styles change, trends change, and people change.  As a wedding planner, it's nice to see how things keep changing with time and also how things keep reinventing themselves.  My daughter tells me that I'll be there every step of the way to support her, whether or not I like her parking lot ceremony or newspaper dress.  As far as her non-traditional is concerned, supporting her every step of the way???  That much I do know!

StationAry or StationEry

Normally, I would be writing a Theme Tuesday post today but after reading some of my favorite wedding magazines and stationery blogs over the weekend, I decided to provide a little advice and write a Tuesday Tips post instead.

I have a few pet peeves, but when it comes to writing, grammar, and spelling, this is one of them. Knowing when to use the letter “A” when spelling the word stationAry, which refers to remaining still or not moving.   Or, using the letter "E" when spelling stationEry, which refers to writing paper, or writing materials.

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In the wedding world, we often see the word stationary, referring to the word stationery.  They are not interchangeable.  In our industry, we use it more with wedding invitations and programs instead of writing tablets and pens but as professionals, we are hired to be masters of our craft and simple mistakes are frowned upon.  Our customers read what we put out there, contrary to what we may think!   

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A statement was made recently that our customers only look at our pictures.  In part, that's true.  However, they do read and they are very capable of it too!  As an example, someone recently emailed me to place an order for gift baskets.  In the post script of her email she informed me that she had seen a few misspellings on my website.  I thanked her and immediately went through every page, as she had done, and corrected my errors.   I'm grateful for her attentiveness and forgiveness as I thought I had caught them all before my website was published.  Now I wonder if I missed any opportunities because of those errors.  

Just because our brides tend to spend more time hanging out in our photo galleries, doesn't mean they don't read the other pages too.  Besides, that's why we put them up there!  If you're in the stationery business, know the difference between stationary and stationery, as most of them do because I'm still reading magazines, blogs, and emails where some of you don't.  That's my tip for today....

Men & Their Hats

Some men just can’t go without wearing a hat, just like a woman can’t go without carrying a handbag!  On his wedding day, to him it could be just another day to wear a hat, albeit a nicer one or a fancier one.  In fact, my brother was one of these men and drove my mother crazy looking for the perfect ivory colored top hat!  It becomes their character, their style, and part of who they are.

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Sometimes wearing a hat fits the theme of the wedding and of course the photos turn out so nicely!  In today’s fashion, just like with women, there are so many options to choose from Fedoras to Drivercaps, to Newsboys to Cowboy hats, or even the Top Hat my brother insisted on.  

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The important thing is to stay true to yourself and do what makes you feel comfortable.  It’s your wedding day too!

A Purse On Your Wedding Day

Now, it is very rare to find a woman that doesn’t carry a hand bag, especially one that’s a bit oversized these days.  But what woman wants to carry a big hand bag on her wedding day or go without one.  Working as a planner, we’ve had to put them under the head table, the sweetheart table, and have had the Maid of Honor or a Bridesmaid take care of them.  Shouldn’t there be another option?  I happened to search for one and came up with a few alternatives that I think are just gorgeous and ones that any bride would want to carry on her wedding day.

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My Dream First Dance

The other day, the "Question of the Day" by one of my favorite bridal magazines, Mumaluchi Bridal was “What song would be the song you would dance to for your father/daughter or mother/son dance?”  Normally, I participate in the QOTD but it got me to thinking about my own first dance as husband and wife.  Not, that the father/daughter or mother/son dance isn’t important.

I’m an absolute sucker for romance and I truly love the arts.  I’ve said before, next to photography, dance is my favorite form of art.  It can capture the emotion in a song so beautifully, as if the words were coming to life.  With that being said, my dream is to do the Rumba as my first dance on my wedding day.

To me, it’s the sexiest and most passionate dance there is.  My vows will be my verbal expression of love to my husband and the dance will be my expression of that (well, the expression that I can show publicly anyway ;-) ) It will also be something that my new husband and I can treat our guests to and give them a little something different.  

Cake Seriously Meets Fashion

Since it’s Wedding Wednesday and I’m in the mood for some luscious dessert, I decided to write about wedding cake today.

I went on a hunt for a wedding cake that can stand on its own and came across the wedding cake of Maya Hansen, Fashion Designer of L’Oreal.  Of course, we all would expect this cake to be a fabulous one, but I read the into it a little more and thought that the “inspirations” behind her cake were cute ones.  Being in the fashion industry, she had her baker, Patricia Arribalzaga, of Cakes Haute Couture, design several small cakes as inspiration to what her wedding cake might be.  These are the suggestions she came up with, and she did a fabulous job!

Image Courtesy of MarceloAquiloPhotography.com

Image Courtesy of MarceloAquiloPhotograpy.com

Image Courtesy of MarceloAquiloPhotography.com

Image Courtesy of MarceloAquiloPhotography.com

Image Courtesy of MarceloAquiloPhotography.com

She chose the one that I would have chosen too, a cake to match her wedding gown.  A white satin look with black pearls and lace details.  The flower on top matched the one she wore in her hair.  I love how it's sitting on a dainty, yet elegant stand to not take away from the cake itself.  What she chose to do differently, which we don't see too often, is have a small cake on each of the guests' tables instead of one large one. 

Image Courtesy of CakesHauteCouture.com

Image Courtesy of News.CakesHauteCouture.com

Image Courtesy of News.CakesHauteCouture.com

Once again, cake meets fashion and these didn’t disappoint!

Cake Meets Fashion

Since it’s Wedding Wednesday and I’m in the mood for some luscious dessert, I decided to write about wedding cake today.

I went on a hunt for a wedding cake that can stand on its own and came across the wedding cake of Maya Hansen, Fashion Designer of L’Oreal.  Of course, we all would expect this cake to be a fabulous one, but I read the into it a little more and thought that the “inspirations” behind her wedding cake were cute ones.   Being in the fashion industry, she had her baker, Patricia Arribalzaga, of Cakes Haute Couture, design several small cakes as inspiration to what her wedding cake might be.  These are the suggestions she came up with, and she did a fabulous job!  

Image Courtesy of MarceloAquiloPhotography.com

Image Courtesy of MarceloAquiloPhotography.com

Image Courtesy of MarceloAquiloPhotography.com

Image Courtesy of MarceloAquiloPhotography.com

Image Courtesy of MarceloAquiloPhotography.com

She chose the one that I would have chosen too, a cake to match her wedding gown.  White satin look with black pearls and lace details.  I love how it's sitting on a dainty, yet elegant stand to not take away from the cake itself.  The flower on top matched the one she wore in her hair.

Image Courtesy of CakesHauteCouture.com

Image Courtesy of News.CakesHauteCouture.com

Image Courtesy of News.CakesHauteCouture.com

But, what she did that was a little different, that we don't see to often, was have small cakes on the guests’ tables, as well as one for herself and the groom. Once again, cake meets fashion and these didn’t disappoint!

A Wedding In The Clouds

I decided to dedicate my Tuesday posts to theme and always include a fabulous pair of shoes!

Who doesn't love a great pair of Louboutin's?!  These have the blue bottom and will look like you're walking on a cloud!

Image Courtesy of FeatherInAShoe.BlogSpot.com

Brides come to us all the time with a theme, a vision, or torn out images from various magazines with no clear vision or direction on how to put it all together.  It’s up to us as wedding planners and event designers to put it together into a real concept.  If she’s always loved staring up into the clouds on a clear summer day and has had a vision of a wedding that reflects that, then here is the inspiration that I've come up with for this particular bride.

Doesn't this dress look like clouds are just falling from the bottom?  It would go great with those shoes up above wouldn't it?

Image Courtesy of Pinterest

 Of course the Bridesmaids should look fabulous and look as though they stepped from the sky as well.

Image Courtesy of WeddingDella.com

Isn't this just a beautiful place for a ceremony right under the clouds?

Image Courtesy of ATrendyWedding.com

And this ring bearer pillow that looks like your rings are being brought to you on a fluffy white cloud.

Image Courtesy of SewMamaSew.com

What's a wedding without cake?  How cute is this all white cake with a cloud-like flower accent?

Image Courtesy of AmazingWeddingCakes.com

For the cocktail, a Blue Sky Martini for the guests to enjoy during your reception.

Image Courtesy of OpenWalls.com

The all white reception under a tent, to continue with the theme theme.

Image Courtesy of BGTentAndAwning.blogspot.com

Regardless of what ideas a bride comes to us with, it's up to us to help her pull it all together into something she's always wanted and probably dreamed of most of her life.  Many of us use design boards to help her see it, this was mine.  I hope you found it useful.

QR Codes In Planning Your Wedding

I remember when the computers were black with green block letters; nothing spectacular to say the least!  Now, technology has changed in so many ways and has allowed us to take our computers with us and even have it on our phones. 

Now, the latest in technology is the QR Code, which is a specific barcode that is readable by dedicated QR readers and camera phones.  The information that’s provided can bring up more information on the product, a website, a telephone number, or other pertinent information on the brand.

Image Courtesy of QRCodesTag.com

Being a wedding planner, I’m always perusing Wedding and Bridal magazines and the codes are showing up everywhere to help brides gain more information on the things they may need for their wedding day; from bridal gowns, honeymoons, venues, caterers, florists, jewelers, and much more.  I’ve used them before and it’s definitely a lot easier to have information right at your fingertips, rather than to hunt for it. 

Image Courtesy of WeddingsInWoodinVille.com

Image Courtesy of FredMeyerJewelers.com

Image Courtesy of LaurenBarneyPhotography.com

As an added bonus for me, being the chocolate lover and the business owner that I am, one of my favorite chocolate companies, Chocolate Graphics has come up with a way for you to combine chocolate and technology.  You can market your company by incorporating your website, Twitter feed, online catalogs, and YouTube onto milk, dark, or white chocolate. How cool is that?!  I’d definitely be the one to get the information I needed and enjoy the chocolate later.  A brilliant way to combine technology and a sweet treat!

Image Courtesy of ChocolateGraphics.com

Thanks Michele for sharing this information on Chocolate Graphics and letting us know that chocolate can also be informative!